


All The Strings Attached

by fistitout



Series: in another world (zombies!aus) [6]
Category: Z-O-M-B-I-E-S (2018)
Genre: College!AU, F/M, Friends With Benefits, human!AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-23
Updated: 2019-08-28
Packaged: 2019-11-28 13:06:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 20,556
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18208703
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fistitout/pseuds/fistitout
Summary: “Just the basics of a no strings hookup. I’m here for sex, you’re here for sex. We’re both adults, I’m sure we can have a simple no strings relationship.” Except things get very tangled, very quickly.





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to the newest addition to my collection of AUs. A little story behind this story: I was bored and when I'm bored I write smut stories because why not. But I thought nah, I don't wanna write any random smut story. I wanna write something that has plot or whatever. So I started fleshing out a plot for a smut story, and then it got really good. And then I was like 'well I want everyone to be able to read this because I really like this idea.' So I've taken out all the smut scenes and made it rated T, where they talk about sex quite often. But no smut.
> 
> This is a college!au, a human!au, a non-movie based story. Etc. Etc. Enjoy and see you next Saturday! Leave a review! I really appreciate them.

There's nothing like being young and in college. Being twenty-one and in college, on a full ride football scholarship had every perk imaginable. Complete the required classes each semester to continue to be enrolled as a student, win games and land hot girls.

There was nothing better.

Zed has gotten into White Mountain State University on a football scholarship. He had gone to Seabrook High. Seabrook was an hour and fifty away from White Mountain but he had a car so he could commute back home if need be.

He was rooming with his best friend, Bonzo, who was at White Mountain for music (he's classically trained). He knew other people from their graduating class who went to White Mountain. Like Zed's other best friend, Eliza, who was a computer science major. Or Zephyr, who had played football with Zed in high school and was playing again in college.

And Addison Davis. The cheerleader who Zed had been drooling over since he was fourteen. She was absolutely amazing. She had natural white hair and pretty blue eyes, pouty pink lips and beautiful pale skin.

Zed got held back because of medical reasons in the seventh grade, which was when he got the pleasure of being in her class. In the eight years they'd been in the same year, they spoke a total of three times. First in eighth grade, when Addison borrowed a book from him. Then when they were juniors and were in a group for a history project. The third time was when they were freshmen in college and he had helped her move into the dorms.

Now they were in their third year at White Mountain. Zed saw her when cheer and football shared the gym in the mornings, at games, and in the elevator back up to the rooms. But she was always with her friends and he was always with his.

It was a Friday, and Zed was sitting with his friends in the Green—a giant patch of grass with trees around the edges where students went to hang out between classes. Zed, Eliza, and Bonzo always met up on the Green on Friday afternoons for as long as they could. Zed would have to leave soon though, to head over to the stadium and get ready for the game later.

"Do you mind not creepily staring at the cheerleaders?" Eliza asked him.

Totally coincidental, Addison would go to the Green on Friday afternoons. She's sitting under a tree or on a blanket with headphones, doing schoolwork.

"But she's so pretty," Zed said wistfully.

Eliza rolled her eyes at him. "You've been staring at her for years. When are you gonna man up and talk to her?"

"Uh, graduation?"

"Once we're gone he's gonna stop being wuss and actually talk to girls," Bonzo said cheekily.

"Oh I'll never stop being a wuss," Zed said. "You guys coming to the game tonight?"

"And the party later!" Bonzo said excitedly.

"Woo!"

"You two are idiots," Eliza stated.

Zed and Bonzo laughed. Zed looked at Eliza, seeing her giving a smug smile behind him. He turned around and saw Addison standing behind him with a smile. His smile dropped and he stared at her in surprise and a complete loss for words.

"Hey," Addison greeted. "Can I ask for a ride to the dorms? And the stadium? I figured you'd be heading there since you're playing tonight. Unless you're not playing, then just forget I said anything."

"Uh…" Zed glanced at Bonzo, then back at Addison. "Yeah, sure."

Addison smiled brightly and Zed felt his heart flutter. "Thank you."

Zed nodded and stood up. "See you guys later," he said to his friends.

"At the party!" Bonzo laughed.

Zed grinned weakly. Then he turned to Addison and nodded in the other direction. "Come on."

They walked side by side toward the street where Zed had parked. "So…you don't drive?" Zed asked, probably the stupidest and most bland conversation topic.

"Don't have a license," she said. "I usually just walk but…I forgot that I had a paper due Tuesday. Needed to work and lost track of time and…now I'm gonna be late."

"Oh, don't worry, I'll get you to the dorm and the stadium by two forty five."

"It's two fifteen," Addison pointed out.

"It's only ten minutes to the dorm, fifteen to the stadium. I'll drop my stuff off, we'll meet back up at the car. Don't worry."

"Okay. Thank you." Addison said.

"No problem."

* * *

Zed was a good football player. It was why he had gotten a scholarship all those years ago: he turned his high school team from straight losers to undefeated for three straight seasons (not including his freshman year, when they were still working out their kinks).

The White Mountain football team had enough players that Zed dorm play more than a quarter on offense and half a quarter on defense.

They were playing Southeast New Hampshire University. The Bears were a good team. They always put up a hard fight and the outcome always varied, but this time White Mountain won by two extra points.

About two hours after the game ended, Zed was heading back to the 'athletic' apartments. It was were most of the upper class athletes stayed but wasn't exclusive to anyone. The building was owned by the school and everyone in it were students, just mostly athletes.

There were common areas on each floor but athletic parties always happened in the basement. There was booze and music and everything you could expect at a college party. People were still in the game gear: their favorite player's jersey and face paint. Even the cheerleaders wore jerseys.

Zed had gotten lucky to keep the same jersey number through high school and in college: zero. It was the number he was given when he was freshman. None of his team wanted him there because he was from 'Zombietown,' where the lowest class families in Seabrook (they were called Zombies) were from. In fact, the only reason Zed was at their school was because of the school in his neighborhood being forced to close down.

Being zero hurt at first but Zed grew to life his number. To him it meant that even as an outcast he could still make his mark. It's why he was known for saying "Zero to hero Baby."

Zed was drinking and hanging out at the party, chatting with Eliza and watching Bonzo chat it up with a few coeds. There were so many drunks girls all around, dancing and grinding and shaking their asses. The basement was crowded and hot and loud.

Eliza had gone off the test out her flirting on a few girls on the other side of the room, leaving Zed to watch the party from the side alone. He was surveying the crowd when spotted the girl not too far from him, wearing his jersey— _Necrodopolus, 0_.

He looked a little harder and saw it was Addison, with her jersey tied in a knot above her belly button, wearing high waisted jeans shorts that made her ass look great.

He wasn't sure if it was his imagination or not but he was pretty sure Addison was drifting closer to him. The next thing he knew, they were pressed up together, doing more grinding than dancing.

They went from 'dancing' to making out against the wall. They were touching and kissing drunkenly. Addison ran her tongue along his neck, moving up and biting his earlobe. "Zed, the dorms are empty," she whispered lowly to him.

And that's how Zed ended up sleeping with his crush of forever.


	2. Chapter 2

Zed woke up with a horrible hangover. He was lucky he never opened his blinds because he wouldn't have been able to handle the sun so early in the morning. His head was pounding and his throat was dry. He felt like absolute shit. Naturally, he turned and cuddled further into his pillow, hoping to fall back asleep.

Except he wasn't cuddling his pillow, but a woman. When he turned his head he got a mouthful of white hair. He groaned and blinked, trying to figure out if it was really true that he slept with Addison Davis. Everytime he opened his eyes, she was still lying there, her bare shoulders peeking out from above his blanket, cuddling against him.

Zed smiled a little. It was like every single one of his dreams was coming true, and he wasn't planning on ruining it. He buried his face in her hair and got comfortable in bed, slowly drifting back to sleep.

He woke up again a few hours later, his headache a little alleviated and still cuddling Addison. Except this time she was facing him and smiling up at him. "Look who decided to wake up," she said cheekily.

"Mm," he hummed. "Good morning."

"Good morning," she said with a smile. She stretched back, mewling like a cat. It was adorable and made him laugh a little.

"Let's see, it's a Saturday and I don't seem to have any plans. Just a date with a paper tonight."

"Are you suggesting—?"

Addison shrugged. "I mean, I definitely need some water first considering how much I drank yesterday and how fucking thirsty I am. But yeah, I am suggesting we have some more sex." She shrugged and sat up, letting the blanket pool around her waist. "On a few minor terms and conditions."

"Terms and conditions?"

Addison nodded. Her hair fell over her shoulders and she pushed it out of the way, running her fingers through the white locks. "Just the basics of a no strings hookup. I'm here for sex, you're here for sex. We're both adults, I'm sure we can have a simple no strings relationship."

"Does that mean that this isn't just for today?"

Addison nodded with a smile. "Unless you want it to be. Though from the way you've been watching me, I'd say you wanna keep this going."

Zed blushes at the fact that she noticed his longing gazes. "Um, okay. I think I can handle no strings."

"Good," Addison said.

She didn't leave until after three (not too long, considering they woke up a little after noon). Considering she was at his dorm, she put back on her clothes from the night before and did her best to fix her hair.

"Ready for the shameful walk up to your floor?" Zed teased.

"I'm not ashamed of anything that happened," she countered. "Text me of you need me. And don't forget to buy condoms for next time."

* * *

After Addison left, Zed took another, real shower. He put on the sweats and set to work getting some homework done. Of course, he'd been at work for less than an hour before he got a text from Eliza, inviting him out to a late lunch.

He grabbed his backpack and his laptop, then went and met up with Eliza and Bonzo at the dinner just outside of campus.

"You missed brunch," Eliza said once he arrived. "We're supposed to recover together man. What happened?"

Zed could tell she knew what happened. He sat down next to Bonzo and across from Eliza and said, "I got laid last night. Which carried over into the morning."

Eliza raised an eyebrow. "You hooked up with someone? A girl?"

"Even better, _Addison_."

"Holy shit," Eliza gasped.

"Nice man," Bonzo said with a grin. He held out his fist and Zed knocked their knuckles together.

"I know, it was awesome." He grinned. "Even better, she told me to text her whenever I wanna do it again."

"How did you go from afraid to talk to her to sleeping with her?" Eliza asked disbelievingly.

Zed laughed and shook his head. "It was all Addison. She said that the cheerleaders figured out how to get the football players to wanna fuck them."

"How?"

"They just wear our jerseys. I would say it doesn't work but…then I'd be lying."

"So you'd sleep with anyone who wears your jersey?"

Zed shook his head. "But it's Addison. Wearing _my_ jersey. She looked so sexy. Fuck."

"You don't have to keep reminding us, ya'know." Bonzo mused. "We get it, you've got a girl now."

"That I do not," Zed pointed out. "She made it very clear that this is a no strings arrangement."

"Well that sucks."

"At least I'm getting some," Zed said to Eliza. "Even Bonzo was hitting it up last night."

Eliza flicked a wadded paper ball at Zed. "I'm sick of you."

Zed laughed and grabbed his menu, just as the waiter came up.

* * *

The next time Zed saw Addison was Monday night. She had texted him saying she had finished her paper and needed some stress relief. Her dorm was on the floor above him; he used the stairs to go up and when he was going back. Coincidentally, Eliza was on that floor. So when Zed was heading back to his dorm, he ran into his best friend.

"Crazy seeing you up here," Eliza said with a smug smile.

"Just visiting a friend," Zed shrugged.

"Your shirt's on backwards."

Zed felt his cheeks heat up. "I'm going to my room."

"You're using protection, right?"

"Of course, I'm not stupid."

Eliza clapped him on the shoulder. "Go ahead then."

A door down the hall opened loudly. They both turned to see Addison standing in her doorway. "Zed! You left your keys!" she called.

"Good job," Eliza whispered to him.

Zed shook his head and jogged back to her room. Addison held out the lanyard for him. "Thank you," he said as he grabbed them from her.

"No problem. See you at the gym tomorrow."

* * *

Addison went back into her dorm, closing the door and coming face to face with her roommate, Bree. She looked at her in surprise; Addison had figured that Bree was studying in her room, especially the way she had her music pumping.

"Hey? You eat yet?" Addison asked.

"I wanted to order Chinese but figured I would wait for your hookup to leave." Bree shrugged, moving to the kitchen.

Addison laughed and followed her. "Are you gonna ask Ella and Eva if they want?"

"We were all just waiting for you," Bree said.

The door down the hall opened and their other roommate, Evangeline, came out. She was taller with brown curls and a constant smile. She was a collegiate powerlifter, majoring in political science.

"Is he gone?" Eva asked.

"Yes ma'am."

"Yo Ella! The coast is cleared!" Eva called back the way she came.

Their fourth roommate, Gabriella, came skipping out from her room. She didn't do any collegiate sports; she majored in athletic training which is how they all met. She had graduated in Columbia and moved all the way from the island to New Hampshire for school. She was a little shorter than Addison but way curvier with dark curls and dark eyes.

"Chinese time?" Ella asked excitedly. She looked at her roommates and raised an eyebrow, asking, "Or does someone else need to get laid before we eat?"

"I'm good, " Eva said. "Bree?"

"Me too. And starving. I'm ordering food."

* * *

_**Addison, 9:08 am: You awake yet? I'm in the mood to give a killer blowjob** _

_**Zed, 9:12 am: I'm on campus. My class isn't until 10:30** _

_**Addison, 9:12 am: Also on campus** _

_**Addison, 9:13 am: Connor building, u?** _

_**Zed, 9:15 am: I'll be there in like five minutes** _

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, Addison was walking with Zed to his next class. He was a legal studies major and his next class was only a few buildings away from where he had met up with Addison.

"So did something happen that started this?" Zed asked.

Addison groaned and rolled her eyes. "You had to bring that up? Not just accept what I gave you?"

Zed laughed. "Sorry, just curious."

"If you must know." Addison swung her bag to her front, opening it and pulling out a stapler stack of papers. She zipped it closed and fixed it, then handed the paper to Zed. "This is the paper I was talking about a few weeks ago. Back when we first started."

"Sixty four? Damn."

"Professor Rodriguez is out to get me!" Addison shouted furiously. "It's all stupid and I definitely deserved _at least_ a C! I worked for _days_ on this! And now I have a seventy one in the class. I have a test at the end of the week. Fuck!"

"What's your major?"

"Social work," Addison grumbled. "Stupid. It shouldn't be this hard. Ugh! Thanks for making me mad again."

"Social work is cool, I think. What do you wanna do?"

"Stop trying to get to know me or whatever! I'm _very_ angry!"

"I'm trying to get you to calm down," Zed corrected. "Why do you wanna major in social work?"

"I wanna be a mental health counselor," Addison explained.

"That's cool," Zed told her.

"I need to graduate in two years which I can't do if I fail this class! Then my scholarship will be up and _ugh_!"

"You have a C. You'll bring it up. The semester doesn't end for another six weeks. Plenty of time. You can do it." Zed stopped and turned to face her. "This is my stop. See you."

"Bye."


	3. Chapter 3

"How's it going, Z?" Eliza asked. "I saw you and Addison walking and talking this morning. What was that about?"

"Impromptu hookup. Then she walked with me to my class. Nothing fancy."

"Mhm. You're so into her, dude," Eliza said, shaking her head.

"Wait. Are you saying that Zed is gonna ruin the no strings relationship he's in with the girl he's been in love with since the seventh grade?" Bonzo deadpanned. "I'm surprised."

"I just have to keep pretending, okay? As long as she doesn't know, then we can keep it up."

"Except you're a _horrible_ liar," Eliza pointed out.

"I've made it work for a month," Zed told them. "She thinks there's no strings. And I can handle just sex."

"Sure you can."

* * *

Addison groaned and moved to open the front door. Someone had been banging on it for a few minutes and apparently no one else was home. When Addison opened it she came face to face with her older cousin, Bucky.

"Why aren't you dressed? We're gonna be late for practice."

"I told Brittany that I'm sick and can't practice," Addison grumbled. "I have a stomach virus."

Bucky scoffed. "Bullshit. You're fine, let's go."

Addison rolled her eyes. "I can't keep food down. Been vomiting for days. The smell of food makes me sick."

"Suck it up."

"Goodbye Bucky."

She closed the door in his face. He stuck his foot in before it could completely close. "We aren't done, Addison," he told her.

She groaned and opened the door again. "I wanna go lie in bed and be sick. _What do you want_?"

"You're seriously not coming to practice?"

"I'm seriously sick," she told him.

"Have you had medicine?"

"My roommate's been giving me some home remedies. It worked the first few days and made my stomach feel better." Addison shrugged. "Bree went out to buy some pepto bismol."

"Okay then," Bucky said. "I'll be back tomorrow to check on you."

Addison smiled a little. Bucky had a tendency to act like a douche but he did care about Addison. "See you tomorrow."

* * *

_**Addison, 4:11 pm: You busy?** _

_**Zed, 4:17 pm: I'm driving back to the dorms** _

_**Addison, 4:18 pm: Come to my room?** _

_**Zed, 4:24 pm: On my way up!** _

* * *

Addison opened the door for Zed and put on a smile. Zed looked at her weirdly but followed her back to her room. Addison closed the door and leaned against it, sighing. Zed opened his mouth to say something before Addison said, "I'm pregnant."

Zed looked at her in confusion. He opened his mouth but no words came out. He didn't know what to say.

Addison opened her eyes and looked at him. "Did you hear me?"

Zed closed his mouth and nodded. "Hearing, still working on the understanding."

"Uh, okay."

"Could...could you run that by me again?"

"Do you not understand where babies come from or something?"

"I do!" Zed sighed and scrubbed a hand over his face. "We've only been doing this for like—"

"Three months. Eleven weeks to be exact." Addison sighed, slowly sliding down the door and onto the ground. "We didn't use a condom one time. _One time_! And of course I was ovulating and the stupid birth control didn't do it's one job and now I'm pregnant!"

Zed moved to sit down next to her. Addison brought her knees up to her chest, fucking her head down and crying. Zed didn't know what to do or say. He was only twenty-one; he could barely take care of himself, let alone another human being. Hell, he felt like crying too.

"I'm sorry," was all he could say.

Addison looked up, drying her cheeks quickly. "Why are you sorry?"

"Um, because I got you pregnant?"

"It's not like it matters for you. You don't have this _thing_ growing inside of you. You can just leave and move on…Just cut off the fucking string! There weren't supposed to be strings and now there's this fucking baby! Ugh!"

"Addison, I'm not going anywhere," Zed told her. "This as much as my fault as it is yours. It might just be more my fault."

Addison snorted. "Might?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

"It makes two to make a baby," Zed told her with smile.

"You're worryingly calm," Addison told him. "I tell you I'm pregnant and you aren't freaking out."

"Oh, I'm freaking out. Just on the inside. One of us had to be calm."

Addison hummed in agreement. "Ugh, you're so smart."

"Well that's a first," Zed joked. "What do you wanna do? With the baby, I mean."

"I'm not getting an abortion, is that's what you're asking."

"Okay then," Zed said. "Do you wanna keep it?"

Addison shrugged. "I've been pregnant for two hours. I wanna eat and sleep. That's all I want right now."

"Okay. Let's go out for dinner then." Zed said. "I mean, not now obviously. I've got homework and it's barely five o'clock. But later. If you'd like?"

"Dinner? Like a date?"

Zed could tell by her look of disgust that she didn't like that idea. "No, if you don't want it to be," he said. "I mean, we need to talk about what's gonna happen next. And what we're gonna do. And you said you wanted some time to think and I have to do some schoolwork. I figured meeting up for something—finding something you could eat without vomiting—would be a good idea."

"Oh. Sorry." Addison looked ahead, thinking for a minute before nodding. "That sounds nice. I'll text you some suggestions."

"Okay. Eight?"

"Yeah, eight."

* * *

Zed got to his dorm, walking quickly to his room and ignoring his roommates. He locked himself in his room, went to his bed and flopped down with a groan. He rolled on his back, bringing his pillow over his face, and screamed.

* * *

"We're going to dinner."

"That's good, right?" Bree asked. "Your baby daddy is taking you out on a real date."

Addison shook her head. "No, not good. I don't want a baby, I don't wanna date anyone. I just wanna get my degree and get the fuck out of New Hampshire. And it's not a date! We both wanted to think on it our own for a little. Now we're gonna meet up and discuss."

Bree nodded. "Still good. Zed is a nice guy. At least it's _his_ and not some douche's."

"I guess," Addison said with a shrug.

"So what're you gonna do?"

"I'll let you know after I talk with Zed."

* * *

The final choice was a vegan restaurant. There weren't any strong smells there and Addison's roommate had promised the restaurant had good food. Zed drove them to the restaurant. The ride was mostly silent except for the radio. Addison nodded along with the music, then, the longer the ride, the more comfortable she got. She hummed, then whisper-sang with the songs (she had a really pretty voice from what he could tell).

Addison order a simple (vegan) grilled cheese and Zed got (vegan) mac and cheese. "I've never been here before," Zed told her. "I didn't even think vegan restaurants were real."

Addison laughed a little. "What does that even mean?"

Zed smiled and laughed lightly. "I've never seen a vegan restaurant before. I just figured vegans bought vegan food. I didn't know there were whole restaurants."

Addison laughed, her nose wrinkling as she made the most beautiful sound Zed had heard. He was so smitten it hurt so much.

"My roommate Ella is a vegetarian, and she loved this place," Addison said. "We don't always eat dinner together—the four of us—but we try to as much as possible." Addison shrugged. "We come here a lot is what I'm saying."

"And you think you'll be okay? With eating, I mean?"

"Don't feel sick right now," Addison said. "I've been fine with toast and crackers and plain food. Hopefully I can eat this grilled cheese because it is the love of my life."

Zed raised an amused eyebrow. Addison laughed again and explained, "It's so good! You should've gotten it, Zed. It's got cheese and basil and tomatoes. It's _so_ good."

"Maybe next time," Zed said with a shrug. "I wasn't sure how I'd feel about vegan cheese in my mac and cheese."

"It tastes like regular cheese, you'll be fine," Addison assured him. "You won't even notice."

"Whatever you say."

"So I spent some time thinking and talking with my roommate, Bree. And I've made up a few decisions. But I wanna hear your opinion before I share what I wanna do."

Zed nodded along. "Okay. Makes sense."

"So, what do you wanna do with the baby?" Addison asked.

"Well, considering it's not growing in _me_ , I will support whatever decision you make."

"But what would you prefer?"

Zed shrugged. "I'm twenty-one and in college. I don't _want_ to raise a kid. I can and I will. And, like, my mom always told me taught me that every baby deserves a chance so I don't really believe in abortions."

"Me neither."

Zed smiled a little. "But like I said before, it's all your call. If you want to put the baby for adoption, I'll support your decision. If you want to keep it, I'll do everything I can to help you. If you don't want me to be apart of it, then I'll respect your decision."

Addison raised an eyebrow, frowning. "That sounds like you _don't_ wanna raise the baby."

"No I do, I do. I practically raised my sister, so I do have some experience too. Just throwing that out there." Zed have her a wink and she laughed, shaking her head.

"You're funny," she pointed out.

"So what do you wanna do?" Zed asked.

"Well, I have to talk to my coaches about my scholarship and my position on the team. But…I wanna keep the baby."

Zed gave her smile. "Sounds like a plan then."

Addison raised an eyebrow and asked, "Together?"

"Together."

Addison smiled a little breathlessly. Their food came out and she waited for the waiter to leave before speaking. "Well we've definitely gotta start saving money. A baby is _expensive_."

"Oh, I can see if I can chip into the college savings. You know, got that full scholarship so all that money my dad had been putting away was being used for my sweet baby car."

"My parents won't allow me access to the college fund. They said I can maybe have the money _after_ graduation." Addison rolled her eyes. She took a drink of her water before gasping, widening her eyes and nearly choking on her water.

Zed looked at her in shock. "What happened?"

"My parents are going to _kill me_. My cousin is going to _kill me_. And he's going to kill _you_."

"What? Your cousin? Who's your cousin?"

"Bucky. He's gonna graduate in April but—" She paused and counted on her fingers. "I'll be like seven or eight months. I don't know. I'll be heavily pregnant, my parents will be there. _Fuck_ , Thanksgiving is next week. And then winter break."

"I didn't even think about that. Oh god." Zed sighed and shook his head. "That'll go over great, I'm sure. 'Hey dad you know how you sent me to college to get a degree and play football? Well I got a girl pregnant instead so yay.'"

Addison laughed and shook her head. "My Dad is going to check your record. Hopefully you don't have one."

"I'm only human, Addison."

She laughed again. "I won't tell Bucky just yet. Which means you can't tell too many people. Because the more people who know, the bigger the chance of Bucky finding out."

"My lips are sealed. Who have you told?"

Addison shrugged. "My roommate, Bree. She brought the pregnancy test. I'm still trying to figure out how and when I'm gonna tell my parents."

"I hope it goes over well. But knowing your parents, it probably won't."

Addison giggled at him. "Growing up in Seabrook was fun, wasn't it."

Zed laughed with her. "Your dad's arrested me four times, just FYI. He's gonna be _so_ happy when he finds out," Zed said sarcastically.

"This is gonna be great," Addison laughed. "Okay this grilled cheese smells amazing and I'm starving. Let's eat."


	4. Chapter 4

"Zed…" Addison asked slowly. "Are we still…are you still willing to…keep up the sex?"

Zed glanced at her curiously and asked, "What?"

Addison shrugged a little uncomfortably and a little nervously. "Like, if I were to ask for sex right now. Would you say yes? Or no?"

"Well let's see," Zed said. "Sex with a very hot girl. What a difficult choice."

Addison snorted a little. "You're very sarcastic, Zed. Your room?"

"I have to check, one second." Zed pulled into the empty parking spot, putting the car in park then taking his phone from the cup holder. He scrolled through his messages, checking to see if all of his roommates were home.

"The coast is clear."

"Why do you only bring me to your room when your roommates aren't home?" Addison asked.

"All of them are shitheads," Zed complained. "They'll give me shit for fucking you. Bonzo will tease me with Eliza or the other two will tell the entire team and it's just not what I'm in the mood for."

Addison nodded in understanding. "Yeah, I get that," she said. "I don't want people talking about me, or about you."

"How kind of you. Come on, let's go."

* * *

Zed was up early but he liked cuddling with Addison in the morning. It was better than going to the gym or to class. He didn't actually skip gym time, considering Addison would wake up before he'd miss it. But sometimes he'd miss a morning class to spend more time with her.

Addison woke up earlier than she usually would. She groaned and stretched, then turned to face him. "Mm, good morning," she mumbled. "What is with you and creepily watching me in the morning?"

Zed just smiled and shrugged. Addison giggled a little. Her face fell and she gagged; she rolled over and got out of his bed. She walked quickly into the bathroom. Zed got out of bed; he went over to his drawers and put on a pair of boxers, then grabbed a tee shirt and went into the bathroom.

Addison was hunched over the toilet, vomiting. Zed cursed under his breath and got down next to her. The last time he dealt with a vomiting person was when he was still living at home and his little sister got a stomach virus. Like the time with Zoey, he rubbed her back soothingly and held her hair back from her face.

Addison started dry heaving, gripping the edge of the seat hard enough that her knuckles went white. "You're okay, Addy," he said soothingly. "Just breathe, okay. You're okay." She coughed thickly, took a deep breath and slowly let go of the seat. She let go of her hair and she sighed, ruffling it.

"I hate throwing up," she complained. "I hate this so much."

Zed hummed in acknowledgement. "I would ask if you want some breakfast but I'm gonna guess that's why this happened."

"To be fair, it _does_ smell pretty good," Addison said. "I'm so hungry."

"I'll find you something to eat. I also got you this shirt, so you wouldn't have to be sitting here, completely naked."

Addison smiled and took the shirt from him. "You're really sweet. Like way too sweet. Why are you so nice with me?"

"You deserve it," he told her. Zed moved an arm around her shoulder, pulling her into his side. "You're amazing and perfect and sweet."

Addison snorted. "You sound like you have actual real feelings for me."

"That'd be crazy," Zed muttered. "Breakfast?"

"I don't think I can keep anything down," she said honestly. "Thinking about food makes my stomach hurt."

"I think you should see a doctor."

"Probably."

"Do you wanna try eating something?" Zed asked her.

"I won't be able to handle eggs, I can tell you that. But if you have plain cereal, I think I can try it. I just don't want to vomit anymore."

"I'll figure something out." Zed got to his feet and went back into his room. He grabbed a tee shirt from the drawer and put it on. He walked out and into the kitchen, where Bonzo was frying eggs and bacon.

Bonzo gave him a questioning look when he saw him. "Don't you have class in like, ten minutes?" Bonzo asked.

"Addison's here," Zed told him lowly.

Bonzo nodded in understanding. He watch as Zed grabbed a bowl from his cabinet, a box of Cheerios, and the milk from the fridge. "Is that for you or for her?"

"Her."

"Doesn't eating breakfast together violate the whole no strings thing?"

"I'll explain when you're older." Zed patted his shoulder, picked up the bowl of cereal and went back in his room.

He put the bowl down on his desk and closed the room door. Addison was in the bathroom, leaning over the toilet, dry heaving again. Zed went in and Addison sat back, panting as she looked up at him.

"I'm sorry," she said in a small voice. She gestured to the toilet seat where she had missed (just a little bit).

"It's not your fault," he told her. "Don't worry about it, okay? It's my bathroom, and I've dealt with _way_ worse."

"That's just a tiny bit concerning," she noted with a smile.

Zed breathed out a laugh. Addison got to her feet and took a deep breath, turning and looking at him. "Um, do you have a toothbrush or some mouthwash or maybe both? That I could use?" she asked.

Zed nodded and went to the sink drawer, pulling it open and handing her an unopened toothbrush and the toothpaste. "Mouthwash is behind the mirror," he told her. "I'll be in the room."

Zed gathered her clothes on his bed, straightening them out for her while he waited for her to be finished in the bathroom.

Addison came out of the bathroom a few minutes later. Zed gestured to the desk where the cereal was; Addison went and picked up the bowl. "Thank you," she muttered.

"It's no problem."

"What's your roommate cooking?" Addison asked.

"Eggs and bacon. Always does. He's awesome."

"But you don't want him to know when I'm here?"

"Eh. Him and my other friend always tease me. I told you this yesterday. But if he doesn't know you're here until the morning. It minimizes a lot of the teasing."

Addison hummed, eating a spoonful of cereal. She looked at the papers on Zed's desk. "Woah, you have class like, now."

Zed nodded. "Yeah, I know."

She looked at him and asked, "Why are you here? You have class!"

"It's not a hard class. Plus, we get two absences and the teacher is chill."

"Finals are in like, two weeks. You shouldn't be skipping class."

"That's the only class that I have a high A in, I'll be fine."

"Is…is it because of me?"

Zed shrugged. "It's not _not_ because of you. But I didn't even have my alarm on, so it's not like I was trying hard to go to class today."

Addison sighed sadly. "I feel all bad."

"Don't. It's my choice, not yours."

She sighed again. "Okay."

"Can I ask you something?"

Addison nodded, sitting down in his desk chair. "What's up?"

"We didn't really talk about this yesterday but…do you wanna try dating?"

She shrugged uncomfortably. "I don't wanna be in a relationship with someone just because we're having a baby. Seems fake and…not right."

"You said it yourself that I have actual real feelings for you."

"Oh do you?" Addison asked. "I'm not a mind reader, Zed. I said it sounded like it. But we've known each other since the seventh grade and you've barely said two words to me. How am I just supposed to assume that you have feelings for me?"

"But—why did you even ask for sex in the first place?"

"Because you're hot and I've heard good things about your dick." Addison shrugged again. "I didn't want a relationship. I just wanted some dick."

"Well you got way worse than a relationship, don't you think?"

Addison rolled her eyes. "Way to be an asshole, asshole."

Zed groaned and sat down on his bed. "Okay, look, I'm sorry. For being so sarcastic. I just...the reason I never asked you out was because I was afraid to talk to you all those years ago because you're really cute and nice which is why I never talked to you and now we're having a baby and I wanna try dating you if that's not too much to ask."

Addison was silent and Zed couldn't bring himself to look up at her. She ate her cereal quietly, then said, "I…it wouldn't hurt to try."

Zed's head snapped up quickly and he exclaimed, "No! I don't want you to feel forced or anything."

Addison snorted a little. She found it really adorable how he would ask for something then try to make it sound not weird or creepy as possible, and usually fail. He deserved a chance, anyway, as the father of her baby. Just a chance. "I don't. It's just one date. If we hate it, we just agree to be kickass parents and nothing more. And if we don't hate it, we keep doing it until we hate it."

Zed could help but smile. "What if we don't hate it? Like ever?"

Addison shrugged. "I dunno. You know all the people I've dated, all douchebags."

"Am I douchebag?"

"Nope. Just an asshole who's really good at sex."

Zed snorted. "I don't know if I should laugh or be offended."

"Just…prove me wrong, Necrodopolus."


	5. Chapter 5

Addison went to the Green and put in her headphones, finding a shady spot in the grass and sitting against the base of a tree. She put on music and started working on her homework. Working on schoolwork turned into researching her pregnancy.

She knew she'd need a new OB/GYN for the sole reason that she needed to see one immediately and couldn't go back to Seabrook. And she needed to research all sorts of things she'd need health wise and baby wise. The more she found out the more stressed she got. Just having the baby would be a lot of work and stressful.

It took some time but she found a doctor with good reviews not too far from campus, who was able to see her the next day. She made the appointment and got her doctor in Seabrook to send her a copy of her records, before she realized that Zed might want to be there for her first doctor's appointment.

* * *

_**Addison, 5:09 pm: So I just made a doctor's appointment for tomorrow at 2pm. Then I realized you might wanna come so…let me know** _

_**Zed, 5:11 pm: I would like to come and 2 sounds good** _

_**Zed, 5:12 pm: But I have to be back for the game by like, five I think** _

_**Addison, 5:12 pm: I can make it earlier. Send me your schedule.** _

_**Zed, 5:16 pm:** _

* * *

Addison managed to move the appointment to ten in the morning, which worked with both of their class schedules. She bookmarked all the pages for a later use. As she was closing her tabs, she noticed someone sit down next to her. Addison looked and saw her cousin getting comfortable on the ground. She closed her laptop quickly and pulled out her headphones, looking at him.

"What're you doing here? You hate sitting in the grass?"

"Can you blame me? It's dirty and filled with gross bugs and hard." Bucky scoffed and shook his head. "The real question is why you're looking at all those baby websites? Are…are you pregnant?"

"No!"

Bucky frowned and gave her a serious look. "You're lying to me, Addison, and you never lie to me."

"What, I'm not lying," Addison said, laughing to try and sell her point. "I'm not even dating anyone. I'm not even _sleeping_ with anyone?"

"Then why did you have all those tabs open about babies and being pregnant?"

"Um…for…homework?"

Bucky rolled his eyes and stood up. "Fine, lie to me. See if I care. I'm outta here."

* * *

The next morning, Addison walked out of the apartment building and stood on the sidewalk for a minute, searching for Zed's car. She was about to text him, asking where his car was and where he was, when he pulled up to the curb. He looked at her through the window and smiled and waved, clearly out of breath.

Addison opened the passenger door and climbed in. "Hey I thought you didn't have class in the morning?"

"Practice," he said as answer. "Ready?"

"Absolutely not, but let's do this."

Zed laughed and pulled out of the parking lot, heading for the exit.

* * *

Bucky sat with his arms folded and face furrowed. He didn't understand why Addison was keeping secrets from him. They were _close_ , they told each other everything. Now she was hiding the fact that she was _obviously_ pregnant with some guy's baby. And she was sneaking off with him at nine in the morning, too.

One of Bucky's 'close' friends, Tracey, was the first to pull up information on the guy who had been driving the car Addison had gotten into. "That was Zed Necrodopolus. Football player, number zero."

"Well that's interesting. Now what the fuck was he doing with Addison?"

"We'll figure it out, Bucky," one of his other friends, Lacey, assured him. "We always get answers. Don't worry."

"Hm, fine."

* * *

To say Zed was nervous was an understatement. He did his best not to make it obvious, trying to distract himself by reading all the baby magazines. But he couldn't focus on anything but the crushing reality of everything was keeping him from actually reading.

"Zed?" Addison placed her hand on his bouncing knee. He looked at her and saw her watching him with a raised eyebrow. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm good I'm totally fine." he lied.

Addison lowered her voice and asked, "Are you really okay? You've been on that one page for ten minutes."

"Just…soaking up all the knowledge?"

"You know you can tell me what's wrong, right?"

Zed offered her a weak smile. "I'm fine, don't worry about me."

Addison looked like she wanted to say more but the receptionist called out her name. She's standing in the doorway to the exam rooms so both Addison and Zed stand up, walking toward her. They follow her down the hall.

"Room 6, a nurse will be with you in a few minutes."

"Thank you," Addison told her, before going into the exam room.

The receptionist gave them a smile before closing the door. Addison turned to face Zed. "Alright talk to me. It's just you and me. What's on your mind?"

"I…I'm just nervous," he admitted. "Kinda like last minute jitters, except this isn't last minute."

"Yeah, like it wasn't real until now. Like, it was just a thought or a statement, but now it's a real fact. And it's really, really scary."

Zed nodded. "That's exactly what I'm talking about."

"It's terrifying," she added. "But we can do this. I don't know how, but we'll get through this. Together."

She gave him a reassuring smile and he felt a lot more relieved. Zed felt the urge to kiss her (which wasn't unusual with him if he was being honest). They were standing fairly close to each other; Zed could feel the tension between them, different then all the times they had been having sex. It wasn't sexual tension, which was a little strange, but more like soft, romantic tension.

Addison cleared her throat and took a step away from him. "That was weird," she laughed awkwardly.

Zed let out an equally awkward laugh. "Yeah. Really weird."

The door opened and they both looked to see the nurse walking in, looking down at the file in her hands. "Addison Davis?"

"Yep that's me. I'm Addison Davis."

The nurse looked up and smiled at them. "Alrighty I'm your nurse, Karla. Dr. Johnson will be in soon but we'll get started on your physical exam." Karla looked at Zed and smiled. "You must be Dad."

Zed smiled a little. "Yeah, that's me. I'm Zed."

"You're really tall, aren't you?" she noted, then said to Addison, "Hope you're ready for a tall baby."

Addison giggled and nudged Zed. "You just had to be six two."

"I'm six five," Zed corrected.

"As if that's better."

"And how tall are you? You're like a full foot shorter than me." Zed teased her.

"Let's find out how tall you _both_ are, huh? Addison first, because I need that information for my paperwork."

Addison and Zed both laughed. They followed Karla to the measurement marker on the wall. "Shoes," she reminded the both of them.

Addison toed off her shoes and moved against the wall. Karla measured her at the top of her head, then said, "One hundred sixty centimeters. Five foot three."

"How the hell am I so much shorter than you?"

Zed laughed and took her place against the wall. Karla had to get a stepping stool to see where he reached, then announced, "Six feet, four and three quarters."

"What the fuck! _How_?"

Zed laughed at Addison. "I love short people. They're so grumpy it's adorable."

Addison glared at him which he just laughed at. "Look at you, you're so adorable."

Karla chuckled and shook her head. "You two are so cute. Now Addison, time to check your weight."

"Oof."

"Problem?" Karla asked.

"I should let you know that I'm underweight," Addison said, nodding. "I was a tiny bit anorexia when I was…thirteen, I think."

"That is useful information, thank you. Anything else we should know? Mental health concerns? Medication your taking? Birth control methods?"

"You mean the birth control that _didn't_ work?" Addison joked, giving Zed a pointed look.

"I seem to recall someone saying—"

"You don't need to repeat it!" Addison interrupted.

Zed smiled at her and she rolled her eyes. They kept cracking jokes at each other through the rest of the exam. Zed noticed the way that Karla was interacting and observing them. Not long after, Dr. Johnson came in. Karla and Dr. Johnson worked side by side, asking questions and scheduling Addison for blood work.

Zed listened to everything they said about concerning her health and what to eat. She one hundred percent needed to gain more weight and they gave her diet recommendations and nausea prevention methods. Also, they gave her what vitamins and supplements to buy.

"Alright that seems like everything," Dr. Johnson said. "Now let's take a look at the baby."

"Can you roll up your shirt? And your pants?" Karla asked. She got up and went over to the cabinets, pulling out a tube of gel. Addison rolled her shirt up, bunching it up under her bra, then pulled her leggings down lower on her waist.

"This is gonna be cold," Karla warned.

She squeezed a liberal amount of gel onto Addison's lower stomach. Dr. Johnson wheeled the machine over, pulling the probe off from the side.

Addison and Zed watched the screen curiously. Dr. Johnson started rubbing the probe around Addison's lower belly, watching the screen as it came to life (in black and white). She pointed out a little white blob in the screen.

"There's your baby," she said softly. "There's what looks like the head. See it's curled into a little ball."

Zed could barely tear his eyes from the screen. He was actually really having a baby. Every second it felt more and more real and now he was seeing it—really seeing it! He pulled away to look at Addison, gauging her wonderfilled expression. He felt his heart swell even more; every second he spent with Addison, he fell more and more in love with her.

"We'll get you guys some pictures of this," Karla told them.

Neither of them responded. Addison was staring at the screen and Zed was staring at her. Unbeknownst to them, Karla and Dr. Johnson shared a knowing look; they loved to watch young couples at their first prenatal exam, to see their faces the first time they see their baby.

Karla sent the ultrasound picture to be printed. She then went and retrieved another machine, this one handheld, and a package of wipes. "You want to listen to the baby's heartbeat?" Karla asked.

Addison looked from the screen to Zed, still smiling a little. "Yeah, we would like that," she said softly.

Dr. Johnson turned off the ultrasound machine while Karla cleaned off Addison's stomach. Zed watched her curiously as she held what looked like a weird stethoscope. "Um, what's that?" Zed asked.

"This is a fetal Doppler," Karla explained. "Stethoscope goes on the belly, this produces a heartbeat sound."

"I thought it might be apart of the ultrasound machine or something."

"This makes it easier to hear."

"Ah. Okay."

Addison smiled at Zed. Karla place the stethoscope end on Addison's lower stomach. She slowly moved it around, in search of the little fetus. Both Zed and Addison were anxiously waiting for the sound. After a few minutes, Karla's face scrunched up, making them both concerned.

"What's wrong?" Addison asked worriedly.

"Seems like someone's hiding," Karla said. "Can't seem to find a beat."

Addison glanced over at Zed her face filled with panic. And sure, he was panicked too. It obviously wasn't good that they couldn't find the heartbeat, but there one of them needed to be calm or at least reassuring. So Zed slipped his hand into hers, giving her a slight squeeze. She looked up at him and he nodded, offering her whatever reassurance he could give her.

Addison nodded too and they both looked back at Karla. Dr. Johnson walked over, helping Karla search for the heartbeat. Addison squeezed his hand, a little more as the time passed. They were both growing more stressed, watching the doctor and nurse as they tried to find it.

The room was silent when it first sounded: a soft but steady, obvious heartbeat. Addison gasped softly. "Zed! Zed do you hear it? It's a heartbeat! A real heartbeat!"

Zed couldn't help but laugh softly. "Yeah Addy, I hear it." They shared another look, smiling at each other.

* * *

**A/N: So…I tried my best. I've had an ultrasound once when I was eleven (like, six years ago) and I wasn't pregnant either so…yeah. I think I did a pretty good job. A lot of research went into this chapter just FYI. But do tell me if I got something wrong so I can improve!**

**As always, leave a review!**


	6. Chapter 6

They scheduled the next appointment with receptionist (in another month). Addison was already almost eleven weeks pregnant, which would be the typical time of the _second_ appointment. But it was still fine, she was still healthy and so was the baby.

The receptionist—a different person from when they went in, named Carl—helped schedule the lab test for Addison's bloodwork. He got them the envelope with the ultrasound pictures, then they were on their way back to campus.

Zed held Addison's hand from the exam room all the way out to the car. Addison didn't seem to mind so he didn't let it go.

"That was so nerve wracking," she said once they were outside. "I was so scared."

"Me too."

"Yeah, but you were so calm. You're always so calm." Addison shrugged. "Thank you, for…for being so calm and level and helping me calm down."

"You don't have to thank me for that." Zed told her. "As your Baby Daddy, it's my job to provide you with emotional support."

Addison smiled at him. She leaned back against his car and let out a happy sigh. "That was nice. Though I'm _not_ excited to get blood drawn."

"I'll be there too, if you want."

"But that's not Baby Daddy's responsibility," she pointed out.

Zed chuckled and stepped a little closer to her, testing the boundary. Addison didn't say anything, just looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "Technically it is. You have to get tested for all these diseases that can be transferred to the baby that I put in you. Blah blah blah."

Addison giggled at him. "Don't you have class Monday morning?"

"My teacher canceled classes next week. He wants to ensure his flight to California, so he's leaving tomorrow."

Addison nodded, then looked at him with sudden realization. "Wait! What time is it? Don't you have class?"

"At three, which I don't have to go to because of the game." Zed assured her. "Are you gonna go? You're not cheering today."

"I'm not going. If Bucky sees me he's gonna get suspicious and start asking questions which I don't need." Addison rolled her eyes. "He's suspicious right now because he saw me doing baby research."

"When are you gonna tell him?"

"I don't know." She sighed, running her free hand through her hair. "I don't know what to do. I can't go home for Thanksgiving. My parents will kill me once they find out I'm pregnant. I wanna try and hold off on telling them for as long as possible. But…my morning sickness will be horrible, _especially_ at Thanksgiving."

Zed thought for a moment, trying to think of a solution. "I don't know what to do. It's Thanksgiving, it's huge. I can't skip it, and we get days off for it."

"Oh, how helpful," she said sarcastically.

Zed chuckled and shrugged. "Sorry. All I can think of is some stupid, last minute project that makes you stay on campus. But that's stupid…"

"Uh, no, that's brilliant," Addison stayed with a glowing smile. "It's perfect! I can't leave campus because I need to finish a major assignment!"

"No details?"

"I can figure those out later," she waved him off. "But thank you! You've been amazing all day today, Zed."

"Imagine how great I'll be tomorrow, when I'm actually trying," Zed joked, making her laugh.

"What're we doing tomorrow?" Addison asked.

"I have to make some changes, now that I know what you can eat and I definitely know what makes you nauseous." Zed shrugged. "I'll let you know by tonight, I swear. I have the whole day to work on this."

"Well, I'm excited either way. Even if it goes horribly."

"Hey!"

Addison laughed and let his hand go, bringing her arms up around his neck instead. He mirrored her, placing his on her hips. "Don't be all pouty. As long as I don't get actual food poisoning or like, die, you're sure to get a second date."

Zed raised an eyebrow at her. "Really?"

"I can tell you've put a lot of effort in this date, and it's unfairly hard considering I can't go anywhere that food has a scent. And you're really cute and nice."

Zed chuckled. "You're really cute too. Your niceness comes and goes, but that's the problem with being human."

"Oh? And you're not human?"

"I'm a Zombie," Zed joked.

Addison laughed and pulled a little on his hair. Zed took her hint and leaned down towards her. He bit lightly at her nose, making her giggle.

"Zed, you were supposed to kiss me."

"I think, as a Zombie and your former no-strings hookup, it's my job to bite you where you shouldn't be bit."

Addison giggled and stood on her toes, giving him a short and sweet kiss. "Let's go back to campus, okay? I have class at one."

Zed kissed her again, smiling as he pulled back. "Yeah, let's go."

* * *

Zed went with Addison up to her room. He was going to drive her to her class then go and meet with Eliza and Bonzo at the Green.

To Zed's surprise, another guy was waiting for her in her room. He had black hair and tan skin; Zed recognized him from the cheerleaders. This was Addison's cousin, Bucky.

"Bucky? Why are you in my room?" Addison asked. "Get out!"

Bucky looked from her to Zed, glaring. "Who's _that_? Why didn't you tell me you had a boyfriend, Addison?" Bucky crosses his arms, still glowering at Zed.

"I-I don't have a boyfriend!"

"You're holding hands!" Addison immediately dropped Zed's hand. Bucky went on and said, "I saw you guys leave together this morning! Why are you lying to me, Addison? Why do you have to lie to me? It's me, Bucky. Your favorite cousin."

"I'm not lying, I don't have a boyfriend."

Bucky jutted his chin out toward Zed. Addison glanced at Zed, then sighed. "Zed isn't my boyfriend," she stated. "I-We—" She looked at Zed helplessly.

"We…are…working on a project?" Zed said weakly.

Bucky looked between the two of them skeptically. Zed shoved his hands in his pockets, feeling his phone in one and the envelope in the other. He had nearly forgotten about the pictures in his pocket, which he would have to give back to Addison as soon as they weren't being interrogated by her cousin.

Suddenly, Bucky looked at them with realization. He pointed an accusatory finger at Zed and shouted, " _You_ got my baby cousin pregnant!"

Which was odd, considering Zed was fairly certain Addison didn't tell him. She had made it pretty clear that she didn't want anyone in her family to know about the baby.

"Oh, I'm gonna _kill_ you."

Zed panicked, feeling completely terrified at the prospect of the cheerleader attacking him. Luckily, Addison stepped in front of Zed and said, "Bucky, stop! I'm an adult, okay?"

Bucky scoffed angrily. "My ass you're an adult."

Addison rolled her eyes at him. "You're not allowed to beat up guys I like anymore. My decision, which is exactly why I _didn't_ want to tell you."

"You're _pregnant_ with some _Zombie's_ baby and you tried to keep it from me like some child! You think you're ready to have a baby? You don't know the first thing about raising a kid, Addison!"

Zed scrunched his eyebrows at Bucky. "Can you cool it man? Clearly, if you were a good cousin, Addison wouldn't have been afraid to tell you. So mind your own business and get out of her room, like she politely asked you to do."

Bucky gaped at him in surprise. His surprise quickly turned to anger. "You know what? Fuck this. Good luck to you, Addison. You're gonna ruin that baby's life and don't come crying to me for help when you've completely fucked up."

Bucky stormed out, making sure to run into Zed on his way out. Zed scoffed as Bucky left. "No offense but your cousin's an asshole," he stated.

He looked back at Addison, seeing her on the verge of tears. He immediately sobered up, replaying everything that just happened to figure out which one would have hurt her the most.

She shook her head before he could talk. Tears had began rolling down her cheeks but she ran the back of her hand against her cheeks, wiping them away. "I'm fine, I'm fine. That was just a lot, I'm sorry."

"Addy, I'm sorry," he apologized. "If I overstepped my boundaries, or if I just made things worse or—"

"Zed, you didn't do anything wrong," she assured him. She moved to stand in front of him, smiling through the tears and reached up, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Thank you for standing up for me."

"Your cousin was being a jerk."

"A jerk who regularly texts my parents," she muttered. She ducked her head into his shoulder and took a deep breath. "God, I'm so _fucked_."

Zed wrapped his arms around her, hugging her tightly. "I've known Bucky for three minutes, but if he's a reasonable human, he won't tell anyone."

Addison snorted a little. She pulled her head back, adjusting her arms around his torso. "You clearly don't know anything about Bucky."

Zed laughed a little. "Let's get you to class, huh?"

* * *

Zed saw Addison again when she was hanging out on the Green after her class ended. There was still some time before he had to be at the stadium, so he excused himself from his friends and went over to talk to her.

"Hey," he greeted.

Addison looked up at him and smiled. "Oh hello. Crazy seeing you here."

Zed laughed and asked if he could sit with her. She parted the spot next to her and he sat beside her. "So I talked to Bucky," she started. "He said he won't tell my parents because it's my job to break their hearts, not his."

"Seems a little dramatic, don't you think?"

"That's Bucky for you." Addison shrugged. "But hey, it could've been a lot worse."

Zed shrugged because she did have a point. "Hey, are you gonna come to the game tonight?"

Addison shook her head. "I'm hiding from my coaches and captains until Monday."

Zed raised an eyebrow at that. "Hiding?"

"I'm supposed to be sick."

"You are sick."

"Gotta talk about my scholarship and my spot on the team, which is a Monday conversation, not a 'hour before the game' conversation."

"Ah, that makes sense."

"Yeah, but good luck. And…"

Addison trailed off, staring into space. Zed looked at her curiously. After a quiet minute, she said, "All I'll say is that come by my room and find out what happens if you win."

(They did win)


	7. Chapter 7

Addison woke up to the smell of waffles, which wasn't as nauseating as most foods. They smelt kind of good, actually, which made her happy that she might actually be able to eat a real breakfast instead of toast. Waffles could wait, because Addison wanted to cuddle with Zed for as long as possible.

She lay in his arms for another ten minutes. Because some people didn't think she deserved some time to cuddle her Baby Daddy. Her phone ringer went off and Addison was inclined to ignore it, except it was the ring tone she used to know if her parents were calling and if she ignored it they'd drive up and investigate before she could even call them back. The ringer was enough to wake Zed up and he groaned and grumbled sleepily. Sleepy Zed was cute but Addison had bigger problems.

She untangled herself from his arms and slid off the bed, standing dizzily for a minute. Her phone was on her desk and she answered the video call, leaving the camera facing up at the ceiling as she went back to the bed to grab a shirt. "Addison?" her mom called. "What have I said about putting the camera on the ceiling?"

"Sorry Mom," Addison called from across the room. "I just woke up. Wanted to look a little presentable."

Zed sat up in bed and looked at her in confusion. Addison held a finger to her lips, telling him to keep quiet. She slipped on Zed's tee shirt and went back to her desk. Addison took a deep breath to calm down, then pulled her phone from charge, holding it up to her face. "Good morning," she greeted with a smile. "Um, what's up?"

"You haven't called all week. I was worried about you."

"Oh, well, I'm fine," Addison stated. "I had a stomach virus but I'm recovering now, so, all good. Feeling better. All that good stuff."

Addison's mom raised an eyebrow. "You were sick? And you managed to take care of yourself?"

"My roommates helped a lot," Addison admitted. "But I'm doing better, Mom."

"Well, Okay." Missy said. "So do you want us to go pick you up or will you get a ride?"

"For what?"

"For Thanksgiving, on _Thursday_."

"Oh, ha, um, about that," Addison said nervously. She glanced over her phone at Zed, seeing him watching the exchange silently. "I…I won't be coming home. For Thanksgiving."

Missy didn't stop smiling though, like she hadn't heard what Addison said. "That was a funny joke."

"I'm not joking, Mom," Addison stated. "I can't come."

"Why not?" Missy asked, still calm.

"I—sick—and, uh, project?"

Missy looked at her disbelievingly. "What do you keep looking at, Addison?" Missy asked. "Is there someone more important you'd rather be with? Is that why you're not coming home?"

Addison looked at her mom and shook her head. "No! No, it's just Bree. Telling me that breakfast is ready. Talk later?"

"I'll call you after work, Addison, and we will talk about Thanksgiving."

"Yes Mom, bye."

Addison hung up before her mom could say anything more. She put her phone down and sighed, running a hand through her hair. She looked up, seeing Zed watching her and moved back to the bed, giving him a forced smile. "Hey."

"Good morning," he said in a soft voice. "You okay?"

"Fantastic," she muttered sarcastically. "She's so mad. She _scheduled_ a phone call. Psychotic bitch."

Zed chuckled quietly. He wrapped his arms around her back and pulled her into his lap. "You'll be okay. It's not like she can force you to go home."

"You clearly haven't met my parents."

Zed gave her a look. "Oh right, you've met my dad all those times you got arrested," Addison said.

"Those still counts. Though I doubt he'll remember me."

"Right. He'll just look up your record once he finds out."

Zed laughed, only stopping when he realized that Addison wasn't laughing with him. "Are you being serious?" Zed asked.

"Dead serious."

"Oh shit," Zed muttered. "Damn, shouldn't have gotten you pregnant."

Addison laughed this time. She wiggled out of Zed's arms and got off the bed, walking around to the other side and grabbing her underwear.

"Would you care to stay for breakfast?" Addison slid her feet into her slippers, heading back to her desk to grab her phone.

"Uh, sure."

"Well, you'll have to put on some kind of clothes," she pointed out. "Oh, I have your shirt on!"

"No, you can keep it," he told her quickly. "I've got an extra in my backpack."

"That's kinda weird, but okay."

Zed pulled on his boxers and the tee shirt from his bag. "I'm gonna brush my teeth," Addison announced.

"You have an extra toothbrush?"

Addison thought for a second. She did have an extra in the bathroom, but if she gave it to Zed, the boundaries of their relationship would be even more confusing than it already was. They were going on a date later, they were sleeping together, and they were having a baby. Everything was so fucked up she didn't know what to do anymore.

"Uh, yeah," Addison decided. "In the bathroom."

Zed followed her to the bathroom, where she gave him her extra toothbrush and they brushed their teeth, then headed out for breakfast. Her roommates' judgementental looks didn't go unnoticed but she ignored them, immediately going for the waffle maker.

"I'm _so_ hungry and this all smells so good!" Addison exclaimed.

Zed just chuckled, watching as Addison searched the kitchen and found some already cooked waffles in the microwave. She pulled them out and turned to Bree, who said, "Yeah, those are yours. I didn't know you'd have company, though."

"Yeah, this is Zed," Addison said. She turned to him and offered him the plate. "You take it, I'll make some more."

"No, you can take it. I can wait."

"No, Zed, I insist." She thrust the plate into his hands, forcing him to take it. "You're a guest, after all. You want any toppings?"

"Toppings?" Zed asked with a raised eyebrow. Bree moved around him, starting a new waffle for Addison.

Addison nodded, going and opening the fridge. "We got maple syrup, chocolate syrup, whipped cream, fruits. Whatever your heart desires."

"Uh, whipped cream will work. Thank you."

Addison pulled it from the fridge and turned, kicking the door closed and popping the top off. She sprayed a generous amount over his waffles, then closed it. "Go sit, I'll be there in a second."

"Okay."

"Oh, that's Ella, Eva, and Bree. We went to school with Eva and Bree."

"I remember."

"Ella came from Columbia."

Zed raised an eyebrow. "In New York?"

Eva snorted and Ella giggled and shook her head. "No, the country. I'm from Bogotá."

"Cool," Zed said. He went over and sat on the end bar stool. "I kinda failed geography in high school so…would you mind telling me more?"

Zed and Ella launched into a conversation about Columbia. Addison went over to Bree and the waffle iron. Bree looked at her with a slightly knowing smile. "I see you're feeling better," Bree pointed out. "And you've invited your…partner?"

Addison rolled her eyes. Bree knew who Zed was, even if Addison didn't.

The waffle iron beeped and Bree opened it, shaking the waffle out then prepping another. They finished up breakfast, getting to know each other for a bit, before Eva had to leave and Ella excused herself to do homework.

"I have to go too," Zed admitted. He looked at Addison and said, "Get ready for later, you know."

Addison giggled and nodded. "Yeah, it's almost eleven. I've got shit to do today."

Addison slid off of her stool, taking her plate and Zed's and dropping them in the sink to clean later. "Be right back, Bree," she said, then led Zed back to her room.

"I'm gonna hop in the shower," she announced. "And you are more than welcome to join me, if you so chose."

She looked up at him to see him smiling a little. "You don't stop, do you Addison?" he asked.

"Nope. Can you keep up, Necrodopolus?" Addison smirked.

Zed laughed and kicked her door closed, then lifted her up off her feet. Addison giggled as he carried her into the bathroom.

* * *

Zed and Addison met up outside of the building a little before dusk. Before he had left her apartment that afternoon, Zed told her they would be at the beach for a bit and to dress appropriately. So Addison put on a white dress and a pair of white wedge sneakers. The dress was mostly because of the beach part, but also because she had been having problems with her jeans recently, especially since most of them were high waisted and snug-fits.

Zed smiled when he saw her. "You look beautiful, Addison," he told her.

She smiled in return. "You look good yourself." It was true. He was wearing black jeans, a tee shirt, and a dark jean jacket. Looking good was an understatement; Zed looked _hot_.

"Let's go."

Zed had good music taste. It was an hour drive to Lake Winnipesaukee, and they spent the whole time singing along to the music he was playing.

Zed parked outside of a cabin on the lake, much to Addison's surprise. "Where are we?" Addison asked.

"A cabin on the lake," Zed simply said.

"Har har."

Zed chuckled, leading the way up the steps and to the front door. "It was my mom's. Well, it was her family's, which got passed down to me and my sister after they all died. But I figured this would be the perfect place for a first date."

"Out of curiosity, I wanna know why. Not in a rude way."

Zed unlocked the front door, stepping inside and waiting for Addison to walk in before closing and locking it. "Well, you're pregnant, and you have horrible morning sickness. That eliminates restaurants and movies. I had to get creative, you know."

"Oh, sorry," she apologized sheepishly.

Zed turned grabbed her hand, pulling her in close and pressing a passionate kiss to her lips. Addison was surprised by the sudden affection, but quickly recovered, bringing her arms up around his neck and kissing him back.

A minute later, Zed pulled his lips back, resting his forehead against hers and breathing hard. "I-shit, what'd you ask?" he breathed out.

"I-um-shit, I forgot too." They both laughed, sharing a light kiss.

"That was really random," she pointed out.

"I've been waiting a long time to do that," Zed admitted, making her giggle. He let it a soft gasp and said, "Oh, I kissed you because I wanted you to know that you don't ever have to apologize for being pregnant."

Addison breathed out a laugh, then pulled him down for another kiss. He pulled back after a few seconds, slipping out of his arms and heading off to explore this cabin.

"So you own this place?" Addison asked.

"Until the day I die or decide to sign it over to my sister." Zed followed her as she walked around the cabin.

"But…not to be rude, but I thought you were a Zombie? You know, poor, can't really afford anything."

"This was in my inheritance. I was only given access to it when I turned eighteen. It was in the will."

"Your mom's will?"

"Great grandfather," he corrected. "This place gets passed down through the family, along with access to his life savings, but they have to be a legal adult."

"But…I just don't get why you had to grow up a Zombie and now you've got property and loads of money. And a car."

"My car? My dad bought it for me after I got the scholarship." Zed explained. "And I can't explain my inheritance either. I just know that I've got the keys to this place and I'm responsible for it until Zoey is eighteen and I can give it to her."

Zed shrugged. "I thought you'd like it," he admitted.

"Oh I do! It's so…peaceful. And beautiful. And well kept. I just had a few questions about your life is all."

"Let's go out back. I did promise you a beach date."

Addison followed him through the cabin, heading toward the back door. "I was a little concerned. I thought you'd take me all the way to the actual ocean, two hours away. But this is nice. Better, even."

Zed glanced at her and smiled. "Do you wanna stay on the deck or go in the sand?"

"Are we eating now?"

"Not if you don't want to."

"I kinda wanna play in the water," she said sheepishly.

"Don't be all embarrassed. I brought you here because I knew you liked the beach."

"You know a lot about me, Zed," she noticed. "I feel like I don't know anything about you."

Zed smiled, lacing his hand in hers as he led them down to the lakeside. "Let's change that then."


	8. Chapter 8

Addison closed the door to her apartment, leaning back against it and smiling to herself. The lights in the living room where on which meant at least two of her roommates were in there, watching television. Addison walked over to them happily. She stood in the entrance and proclaimed, "Zed is the most amazing man I've ever been with!"

Her three roommates looked at her curiously. "I'm guessing the date went well?" Eva asked.

"We have another one next Saturday," Addison said excitedly.

"You gotta tell us everything," Bree demanded. "Where'd you go? What'd you do? Did you kiss?"

"We've been fucking for months, we've done _way_ worse than kiss," Addison laughed. She sat down on the arm of the couch as Bree muted the television. "But we did kiss. We've been kissing a lot without the whole sex factor. It's…nice."

"Aw!" Bree gushed.

"We went to Lake Winnipesaukee," Addison explained. "His family owns a cabin up there. We played around in the water and talked, and then we had a picnic on the deck. And we caught fireflies—"

"I didn't think there were fireflies still out," Eva noted.

"Me neither," Addison shrugged. "The point is: it was amazing. Zed is amazing."

"Aren't you glad he knocked you up?" Eva joked.

"I guess. I kinda wish we could have met and gone out under…more normal circumstances though." Addison shrugged. "I dunno, I'm tired. Think I'll go to bed."

"Alright, good night." Bree said.

Addison went into her room, closing the door behind her. She stepped out of her shoes, making a beeline for the bathroom. Her nightly routine was short and sweet: take off makeup, wash face, brush teeth, and pajamas. She went through it fairly quickly, humming a song she could recognize as she got ready for bed.

Before she put on her pajamas, she caught sight of her reflection in the mirror behind her door. It wasn't anything special: her hair was down and she was walking around her room in her underwear. It's hard to see with the distance and from the front, so Addison moved closer to mirror and turned to her side. There's the slightest bump on her lower belly, made more prominent by her skinniness. It makes her a little sad that the bump is so noticeable because of her being underweight, but it quickly turns to happiness that there's an actual, real baby growing inside of her.

She smiled for a second before the gears in her head started turning. ' _Research. I need to do a bunch of research._ ' she thought.

She went and got dressed in her pajamas, grabbed her laptop and climbed into bed.

* * *

The next morning, Addison was woken up by the sound of her phone ringing. It took a minute for her to realize that her mother was calling her. She sat up and stretched, rubbing her eyes slowly. She was hoping the call would end before she got up and she could go back to sleep, wake up hours later and call her mom back.

When she got her phone it was still ringing, so she took a deep breath and answered, happy it was just a phone call. "Good morning, Mom."

"It's one in the afternoon," Missy stated.

"I went on a date last night."

"Let me guess? It ended with you screwing your random date?"

Addison rolled her eyes. "I didn't sleep with him." _Last night_. "It was fun and I actually like him, Mother. He's very sweet and fun." _And he's the father of your grandchild_.

Missy hummed. "You didn't answer when I called you yesterday," she noted.

"Date."

"Bucky called me and said that we should be watching you a lot more closely. What's that about? Does it have something to do with why you can't come to Thanksgiving?"

"No." _Yes._

"So why can't you come to Thanksgiving?"

Addison had an entire two days to think of a lie, and she didn't. _Improv classes, don't fail me now_. "I am still recovering, a bit," she said. "And I have a D in a class. My teacher said I can do this project to bring it up. But I have to turn it in by Friday during office hours or he won't accept it."

"Hm," Missy hummed. "I'll drive up with food for you during the break then."

Before Addison could respond, her mother hung up. "Bye Mom," she muttered.

She looked at her phone, going through her notifications from the night. She had a Snapchat from Zed and when she opened it she saw that it was a picture of him in the mirror, showing off his back with the words 'Just noticed how you fucked up my back but whatever.' Addison laughed at him, clicking to respond.

Instead she clicked video call and by the time she realized her mistake, he was already on her screen. "Just woke up?" he asked with a laugh.

"Yep! I saw your snap."

"That's me telling you to cut your nails," Zed said, serious but also jokingly.

"You can't make me!"

They both laughed. "Okay but I called you on accident and I have things to do," Addison said. "Apparently my mom will be paying me a visit some day. I gotta clean and shower and not look pregnant."

Zed looked at her in confusion. "You don't look pregnant."

"She will one hundred percent notice," Addison said. "She has an eye for things out of the ordinary. I need new jeans."

Zed raised an eyebrow. "Jeans?"

"I can't button mine! And I definitely have a little bump and I'm way too skinny."

"Usually I'd say you're perfect because you are, but you are concerningly underweight," Zed said, giving her a serious nod. "Wanna go to the mall today? Buy some clothes and shit? Maybe…take a look at baby stuff?"

Addison scoffed in amusement. "Zed, sweetie, before we even think about buying baby stuff you need to come do research and look at my notes. I gotta educate you."

"Today?"

"Does the mall offer still stand? I haven't tried all of my pants but three jeans are a no and I don't wanna find out about the rest. And it's too cold to wear skirts unless I get some leggings."

"Yeah," he said with a nod. "Go shower. I'll be there in two hours, okay?"

"Ight. Let's get lunch while we're at it."

"Date two?"

Addison smiled and giggled. "Yeah, date two."


	9. Chapter 9

Addison was carrying around her backpack. She and Zed went out for lunch and Addison showed him a couple of the notes she'd gather and shared the document with him. Then they went to the mall and bought some new winter clothes. She mostly bought new jeans and some looser, thick shirts to wear, all of which were at her favorite stores. After, Zed drove them back to the dorms, going up with her to her room to help put her shopping bags away.

To Addison's surprise, when she opened the door she found her mother in the kitchen with Bree. Addison froze and Zed ran straight into her. Her mother turned around just as Zed looked at her.

"Mom," Addison breathed out.

Missy gave a sweet smile. "Addison, sweetie, where have you been?" Her mother looked at her, then at Zed and asked, "Who's this?"

"This…this is Zed," Addison said slowly.

"Zed?"

"He…is…my boyfriend."

Zed made a noise of surprise above her, but Addison was more focused on her mother's controlled but nevertheless surprised reaction. "How long have you had a boyfriend?" Missy asked.

"Um, a while?"

"He looks like this is news to him," Missy pointed out.

Addison was hoping and praying that Zed would get the hint. He wasn't known for his intuitiveness, which was common knowledge to all. Addison was afraid he'd screw up and things would immediately go horribly.

By some miracle, Zed just said, "I'm just surprised to see you. We've only been together for a couple of weeks, I wasn't expecting to meet Addison's mom yet."

Addison let out a slight breath of relief.

"Where did you go?" Missy asked.

"Lunch," Addison stated. "Then the mall."

Missy surveyed them once more. "Well, were about to start making food. Your boyfriend is welcome to join us." Which meant that she wanted Zed gone.

"Zed has tons of schoolwork to do before the break," Addison said. "But I'll eat with you. I just have to put my bags down first."

She looked at Zed and nodded in the direction of her room. He followed her, stepping inside when she held it open for him and waited in the middle while she closed it.

"I'm so fucked," she muttered. She dropped her bags on the floor and leaned against the door. "My mom will find out. She's gonna kill me. She's gonna kill _you_."

"You're wearing a giant sweater," Zed whispered. "And you aren't even showing."

"I'm gonna vomit once she starts opening food," Addison whispered, her tone harsh. "Then she'll start getting nosy and she'll figure it out!"

"But you told her you had a stomach virus."

"I told her I was feeling better."

"You've had a sudden relapse," he said. "I dunno, I'm trying my best. But you've got this, you're scarily good at lying to your mom."

Addison laughed a little. She pouted and tilted her head up at him. "Can I have some kisses? Just a step down from actual sex." she asked.

Zed smiled and nodded. He placed his hands on her hips and leaned down, closing his mouth around hers. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling on the hairs at the nape of his neck. She used him as leverage, jumping up and wrapping her legs around his waist.

Zed chuckled against her lips. His hands held her by her ass, giving it a light squeeze as he kissed her hungrily. He pulled his mouth from hers and looked at her. "You seem a little excited," he whispered.

"Dr. Johnson said it's perfectly normal," Addison pointed out. "Let's just go to your room and fuck until Thanksgiving."

Zed dropped his head back and barked a laugh. "Your mom is here, Addy," he reminded her.

Addison gave him a pout. "Can I come by later though?"

"I'll make you dinner," he offered. "It'll be delicious and filling, and then, if you'd like, we can stay up as late as you want, doing _whatever_ you want."

"I like that plan," Addison said. "I also like it when you cook for me. You're a good cook. You'll have to tell me about it. Tonight. For date number three."

"Number three?"

"Lunch today counted as a date."

Zed hummed in agreement. "Well, the faster you get rid of your mom, the sooner we can have dinner and sex," he told her.

Addison's smile brightened and she brought her legs down from around his waist. "You have to let go of my ass, Zed," she pointed out.

In response, he squeezed her ass again. Addison giggled and pulled him down for a quick kiss. She ducked out of his arms and left her room. She was hit with the scent of several different foods, too many for her to even distinguish, and gagged. She felt her stomach turn and bile rise in her throat; she tried to swallow it back which only lasted a full second before she knew there was no stopping the vomit.

She whined and turned back to her room. Zed was walking out and she ran into him before pushing past him and rushing to her bathroom.

"Addison?" he muttered as she went past.

Addison barely made it to the toilet before she threw up everything in her stomach. Zed came in a second later, immediately dropping down beside her and pulled her hair back and out of her face. Addison retched, unable to breathe as the contents of her stomach were forced out.

There were heavy footsteps, then Addison's Mom was standing in the bathroom doorway. "What the hell?"

Addison heaved into the toilet, a white-knuckle grip on the lid. Her arms were trembling as she struggled to catch her breath.

"You're okay, Addison," Zed mumbled as he rubbed her back soothingly.

Addison nodded meekly. She pulled her head up and looked at the ceiling, feeling miserable. "Sit or stand?" Zed asked quietly.

"Sit," she muttered. She tentatively released the seat from her grip, then sat back on her heels.

She turned her head into Zed's shoulder, hiding from her mom. "Make her go away," Addison muttered, her voice muffled by Zed's shirt.

Zed looked up at Missy and said, "Could you give us a minute?"

Missy gasped dramatically. "I am her mother!"

"She wants you to leave," Zed stated. "Please go back to the kitchen."

Missy huffed but complied, turning and leaving briskly. Zed pushed the bathroom closed, then scooted back with Addison to the lean against the wall.

"That was a mood killer," Addison grumbled. "I was having a good day."

"Addison," Zed whispered. "You're pregnant. You have morning sickness. You shouldn't let it ruin your day."

"I'm gonna stick a finger down your throat," she threatened half heartedly. "See how you like vomiting. It ain't fun, Zed."

"I haven't been sick in years," Zed said wistfully. "I'm sorry."

"You're lucky you're so cute."

Zed chuckled with her. Addison sighed, then slowly got to her feet. "Gonna have to go out there sooner or later," she complained.

Missy left later that afternoon. Addison barely got through the meal on top of talking with her mom. She only left to vomit three other times (though she was still incredibly nauseous the entire time).

* * *

Thanksgiving came and went. Zed went home and hung out with his sister and his dad, then went back for a Saturday football game. There was a week and a half after Thanksgiving before winter break, which was the inevitable time when Addison would have to go home and she'd be showing (however so slightly).

Of course, the conversation came up as pillowtalk. What else was expected between the two of them, anyway?

"You think you could hide somewhere? Like with Bree or something?" Zed asked.

"I have to go home at some point," Addison said. "And I can't wear huge sweaters forever. My dad will bitch cuz I'm not using the heater he paid money for." Addison rolled her eyes.

"You can always come and hide at my place," Zed said with a shrug. "My sister will still be in school for another two weeks, so we'd be alone until three."

"Well first, I don't know where you live, and second, I still have to sleep and shower at my house. _And_ I'll have to eventually tell them."

Zed just shrugged. He didn't have any more ideas. Addison just sighed and turned her head into his shoulder. "I hate having to adult," she grumbled. "I am definitely gonna fuck up this baby's life." She lifted her head to look at him and added, "I don't even want to tell my parents that I'm pregnant. How am I supposed to raise a whole child if I'm too scared of _my own_ parents?"

"You know I don't really see the connection," Zed pointed out. "But if you want, I can be there with you when you tell them. For moral support, of course."

Addison smiled a little. She propped herself up on her elbow to look him in the eye. "Really? You'd do that?"

"Of course I would," Zed said. "It'd give me tons of Baby Daddy points in their book."

"Oh? Is that all?"

"Not all, but it _is_ important. Hopefully someday your parents won't hate me."

Addison giggled and shook her head. She leaned over and placed a kiss on his cheek. "You're literally the sweetest," she said. "How did I get so lucky?"

"It was very lucky that, the very first time we hooked up, we just so happened to not use a condom, and you happened to be ovulating and got pregnant." Zed joked.

Addison giggled and added, "And that you happened to be the biggest sweetheart on planet earth. So dreamy and kind. You've literally put up with my bullshit for ages."

"I see no bullshit. Just an emotional pregnant woman." Zed said teasingly.

Addison rolled her eyes and playfully slapped his bicep. "I'm not emotional."

"You started crying because Eliza told you that pickles are just pruny cucumbers. And this was _yesterday_."

"Don't be mean! I never thought of it like that!"

Zed laughed at her embarrassment, seeing her pouting next to him. "You're a big bully," she whined.

Zed chuckled and snaked an arm around her waist, pulled her over until she was straddling him again. "Don't be all pouty. I'm here for you with all your irrational tears and misplaced anger."

Addison giggled and gave him a sweet kiss. "You're lucky you're cute, or I might have been offended by what you'd just said."

Zed just chuckled with her, moving his hands up and pulling her down for a much more passionate kiss.


	10. Chapter 10

Zed finished up with his finals and left on the same day. His bags were already packed so, after his last final, he would make one final stop at his apartment before heading home. Eliza and Bonzo were stuck on campus for another few days with more tests (as was Addison), so Zed was confined to hanging out with his little sister in Seabrook until his friends showed up.

That would be a bummer if Zoey Necrodopolus wasn't the coolest twelve year old alive. Zed left campus a little after one which would put him at Seabrook around the same time that Zoey would be getting out of school.

Zoey was walking out of the building and toward the bus with her friends after the final bell rang. Zed waited at the front of the pick-up traffic, where Zoey would have to pass to get to the bus. And to make sure Zoey noticed him, he rolled down his windows and blasted his music through the speakers (to the annoyance of the parents, kids, and teachers around him).

It was hard to hear over the music, but one of Zoey's friends (Zola) pointed Zed out and asked, "Is that your brother?" which prompted Zoey to turn and to cause her face to break into the biggest, most excited grin Zed had ever seen.

Zed grinned too, waving at his little sister. He turned down the volume and called out the open window, "We're going on an adventure today!"

Zoey squealed excitedly and ran to the car, her friends behind her. They all said their hellos as Zoey got into the passenger seat, tossing her backpack in the back. Zed smiled and chatted with the middle schoolers until it was time for them to get on the bus. He pulled out of the school, making his way toward downtown Seabrook.

"I didn't know you were going to be home this early," Zoey said. "Why are you here? Did Daddy ask you to pick me up?"

"I wanted to hang out with my cool baby sister," Zed stated. "And no, Dad doesn't even know I'm here yet."

"You're the cool one, Zed," Zoey said. "All my friends _love_ you. I'm pretty sure Jocelyn has a crush on you, which is insane because you're nine years older than us!"

Zed just chuckled and shook his head. "I'm sorry that I'm so awesome, your friends can't handle themselves," he teased. "Now where do you wanna go? I was thinking that hot chocolate shop. Oh and Zane's bakery! Damn, I'm getting hungry just thinking about it."

Zoey giggled. "That sounds good. I'm gonna text Daddy and let him know where we're going."

Zed glanced at her, seeing her unlocking his phone. "Don't you have a phone, Zoe?"

"I just think you should let your father know you've safely arrived in Seabrook and that you have his daughter," she said in lieu of an explanation.

Zed just shrugged and focused his attention back on the road. It was silent between them for a while, while Zoey texted their dad, then she said, "Addison says she's going to murder her professor."

Zed looked at his sister from the corner of his eye. "Who's Addison?" Zoey asked without looking up from his phone. She clicked on something, then smiled. "Aw! She's pretty! Is she your girlfriend?"

Zoey looked up at her brother and Zed laughed to hide his nervousness. He didn't even think he had pictures of Addison (besides the occasional nudes but those were always sent through Snapchat). Of course, after thinking about it, he had snapped picture of her on their first date while she was exploring the cabin.

"Uh, yeah," Zed said.

Zoey's jaw dropped open and she whipped her head to glare at him. "You have a girlfriend and you didn't tell me!"

"It's a bit more complicated than that, Zoe."

"Oh what? You guys were just fucking and then decided 'hey, let's also hang out and date'?" Zoey mocked. That's ridiculous Zed! Stuff like that only happens in fanfiction!"

"Please don't ever use such _strong_ language around me again."

"You have a _hot_ girlfriend! That's exciting! You have to tell me all about her!"

"I'm sure _you_ know all about her," Zed stated. "She's Mayor Missy's daughter."

Zoey gasped in shock, slapping her brother on his arm. Zed swerved a little on the road, while Zoey shouted, " _You're dating Addison Davis!_ "

* * *

Addison was heading back to her apartment when she ran into Zed's best friend, Eliza. They had met a few times: first when Zed made Addison dinner, because Eliza was there and had helped him make a lot of the food. Eliza lived on Addison's floor and was pretty cool from what Addison knew.

"Hey, Perky," Eliza greeted. "Heading to your room?"

"Yup," Addison said. "I'm gonna lay in bed, watch Netflix, and eat my weight in junk food. Wanna join?"

Eliza shrugged. "I'm supposed to be packing to leave tomorrow, but sure. What do you have?"

"Lots and lots of chips and dip. Oh and ice cream." Addison smiled to herself, then said, "I've recently discovered the delicious combination of chocolate ice cream and Tostitos."

Elisa made a disgusted face and Addison laughed. Addison unlocked her apartment, letting Eliza go in first and closing the door after they were both inside.

"You wanna go to my room or in the living room? Either one is fine, but just a warning, my room is a mess."

"Living room is fine."

Eliza followed Addison to the kitchen and helped her put her groceries away. "So I'm coming to the conclusion that your morning sickness is just…gone," Eliza said as she surveyed the kitchen.

Addison laughed and shook her head. "Far from it. But I think the cravings are outweighing all the nausea."

"I can tell," Eliza said, chuckling. "Because you think that chocolate ice cream and tostitos are a good combination."

"I've made many delicious discoveries, thank you very much," Addison stated. "And I also tried takis for the first time."

"Oh my god," Eliza groaned. "You like those?" Addison nodded and Elisa shook her head. "That's how I know you're having Zed's child."

Addison laughed. She put her bags away under the sink and grabbed several snacks, turning and leading the way to the living room. "They were really spicy though, so I went back to my plain chips." Addison shrugged, sitting down on the couch with Eliza sitting down beside her.

"They're god awful. I literally cannot stand them."

Addison just chuckled and shook her head. "How are you and Zed even friends? You're both so…different. It's wild."

"What? Are you exactly like your friends?"

"Me and Bree could be clones," Addison stated seriously. "The only difference is our race. We're literally the same."

Eliza hummed, thinking that over for a moment. Addison watched her as she thought, curious to see what her answer was. She was hoping she'd find some truth that'd bring her and Eliza closer together. They'd been in the same year since preschool, yet they'd never once interacted. It wasn't until the baby came and things got messy and Addison started dating Zed that she even considered getting to know his friends. The same friends who she'd grown up with, who she'd never once talked to.

"Well, I don't have any female friends," Eliza finally said. "Girls are annoying. Zed and Bonzo are annoying too, but less."

"Oh."

"You're not annoying," she added. "You're…pretty cool. For a perky princess, that is."

Addison nodded along. The answer sat well with her. She wasn't annoying, which was good, until Eliza had called her a 'perky princess.' "I'm not a perky princess," Addison stated.

"You're the daughter of the chief of police and the mayor."

"I am also pregnant, with a guy who's not even technically my boyfriend."

"You're still a perky princess. Just…" Eliza trailed off, smiling in the distance. Addison had a feeling as to what came to mind but waited until she said it, "Now you're a _pregnant_ perky princess," making Addison roll her eyes. Eliza laughed still and Addison couldn't help the smile that played on her lips.

"So, what are we watching?" Eliza asked.

"Well I've been trying to binge Brooklyn Nine-Nine," Addison said. "I watched the first episode with Zed. Then we started fucking just about every time we tried getting past the first episode."

"You two really take the whole 'Netflix and chill' thing seriously."

Addison laughed. She grabbed the remote and turned on the television, going straight to Netflix. "Zed is the best," Addison said. "I was surprised he even wanted to stay with me. And, you know, the baby." Eliza looked at her as if she didn't know, so Addison elaborated. "Like, how many college guys would do that? I wasn't his girlfriend, he didn't even really know me."

"That's how Zed is," Eliza said with a shrug. "First, he loved everyone. He can know you for ten minutes but you'll be friends instantly. And if you haven't noticed, Zed is like, in love with you."

"What do you mean by that?"

"He's been pining over you since the seventh grade," Eliza explained. "He's just too much of a wimp to ever say anything. Or he was."

"Not technically. I did start all of this."

"Zed doesn't have to balls to ask a girl for a no strings hook up."

"I mean, have you seen his balls? Or dick for that matter?" Addison whistled and leaned back against the couch. "Damn. I would let him put another baby in me."

"Oh god, straight people disgust me," Eliza complained.

Addison chuckled and smiled at Eliza. "What's wrong with straight people?"

"Dicks are…they're just so… _odd_ ," Eliza complained. "You put that shit in you. The same thing that their piss comes out of. Pussys, they don't produce piss."

"Are you saying you're entire sexuality boils down to human anatomy?"

Eliza shrugged. "Not entirely. But that's not your business now is it?" Addison shrugged because Eliza did have a point. Eliza patted Addison's knee and said, "All that should matter to you is that I'm not a fan of dicks."

"But Zed makes such pretty sounds when you play with his dick," Addison pointed out. "He's sexy and cute all at once."

"You know, I can admit that he _does_ have a nice body." At Addison's smug look, Eliza said defensively, "I'm gay, not blind!"

Addison laughed. "His abs, huh? Phenomenal!"

"You know last summer, Bonzo took a photography class and had Zed do an underwear shoot," Eliza said.

Addison's mouth fell open in disbelief and excitement. "No way!"

Eliza nodded and pulled out her phone, scrolling for a few seconds before showing it to Addison. "I downloaded the best ones," she added.

Addison wasn't focusing on Eliza's words though. The first picture Eliza showed her was of Zed, lounging in a dark room. He was slouched down in his chair, man-spreading. The lighting was _perfect_. The background was dark and only Zed was in focus, his muscles perfectly illuminated and _fuck._ Addison was on the verge of literally drooling.

"I need to get to Seabrook," Addison muttered. "I'm gonna fuck the life out of that man."

"I'm guessing you liked the one picture I showed you?"

Addison, unable to find the words to describe how she felt about that picture (one picture! and Eliza had more!), just nodded. "You...You should send me those."

Eliza just looked at her with an amused smile, shaking her head and turning her phone back. "How are you getting to Seabrook?"

"My roommate."

"Bree?"

"No. Her name is Eva. She's hot and gay. You should check her out."

"Are you just gonna set me up with any girl you know is gay?"

Addison shook her head. "Trust me, Eva's a real catch. She's cute, she's funny, she's hardcore, and her boobs are bigger than mine. Perfect for squeezing."

Eliza breathed out a laugh. "What the fuck?" Addison laughed too, and Eliza went on saying, "First, I'm gonna have to decide for myself whether she's cute. And second, you have incredibly small boobs. But they've grown since you got pregnant."

Addison's head fell back as she laughed. "I'll have you know I'm a C cup now. I went bra shopping over the weekend."

"With Zed."

"Of course I went with Zed! And I got some really good sex out of it too."

"I'm so glad I don't room with either of you," Eliza chuckled. "You guys have a lot of sex."

"It's a good distraction," Addison admitted. "We haven't really talked about…anything." Eliza raised an eyebrow, asking her to elaborate more. Addison sighed and said, "It's just that…I have my scholarship. I'm a year away from getting my degree. But I'm gonna have to baby in the summer, and I won't be able to cheer for a while. And my parents will be pissed that I'm having the baby, and I might lose my scholarship."

"You haven't talked to your coaches?"

Addison nodded. "I'm not the first cheerleader to ever get pregnant," Addison stated. "I have to cheer in half of our games to keep my scholarship for next year, and I have to tell them if I'll do it by July. And I don't know if I can."

Addison closed her eyes and breathed. She could feel the pressure in her head growing, her eyes welling up and tears spilling onto her cheeks. "A-And I have no idea how we're gonna afford a baby. Everything is so expensive. I can't even afford to give birth to a baby. Hospitals are so much money. And I don't know how to talk to Zed about this."

Eliza seemed surprised at the sudden shift in emotions and mood. Zed had told her before that Addison's emotions were all over the place. He said she would go from joking to full on sobbing in four seconds. She had thought he was just being dramatic. Eliza wasn't very good with people and emotions and crying, and settled on awkwardly patting Addison's leg.

"I'm sorry I'm sorry," Addison cried. "You didn't ask to deal with my bullshit."

"I kinda did."

"It's all just so _hard_ ," Addison cried. "And it's gonna get harder!"

"Addison," Eliza gently said. "Why don't you try talking to Zed about all this?"

"Because he's Zed and he's so sweet and nice and every time I wanna bring it up he's being sweet and nice and he doesn't deserve this!"

"Yeah but…but Zed cares. He'll listen and—as the father—he'll want to help you find a solution."

Eliza did have a point, as much as Addison hated to admit. She used her shirt to wipe her cheeks and nodded. "Yeah, um, okay," Addison agreed. "You're right. I…I'll talk to him later. In Seabrook."

Elisa patted her knee. "Good. Now are you gonna put on Brooklyn Nine-Nine or do you wanna have more girl talk?"

Addison giggled and picked the remote up again. The apartment door opened loudly and Addison looked over to see Eva waltzing in. Eliza looked, making a choked out whimper at the sight. Addison snorted a little.

"Hey Eva! How was your final?" Addison called.

"The fucking worst!" Eva announced.

Addison giggled, glancing at Eliza and seeing her openly staring at Eva. Eva came into the living room, looking down at Eliza and smiling. "Oh hello. I didn't think Addison had real friends." Eva said as a greeting.

"This is Eliza," Addison introduced. "She's Zed's best friend. And also gay. Very gay."

Eva had a surprised smile on her face. "Oh, are you?"

Eliza nodded. "I am and you're really hot."

Eva laughed. "Damn. Okay. I'm supposed to drive this lazy slug home today," she said, gesturing to Addison, "but if I didn't have to, I'd take you out or something."

"I-I'll be in Seabrook. Tomorrow afternoon. Maybe then?"

"That should work." Eva pulled out her phone and tossed it to Eliza. "Put yourself in and I'll text you later."

Eliza did as she was asked, adding herself in the contacts before tossing the phone back to its owner. Eva nodded and smiled. "I'm gonna go grab my bags. Get ready to go, you slug."

"Shut up," Addison complained with a smile. Eva just went back to her room and Addison stood up, saying to Eliza, "Well, this was fun. Maybe we can watch another time?"

"Yeah. Sounds good Princess."


	11. Chapter 11

They had hot chocolate and freshly baked donuts and got some to bring home to their dad. Tuesday's were particularly busy at Zane's Bakery so they didn't get to hang out with the owner. If it weren't Tuesday, they would've hung out at home, playing video games and board games and whatever they wanted. But Zoey was in the seventh grade and had homework to do. So they went home.

"Can you help me with my math?" Zoey asked.

Zed raised an eyebrow at his little sister, because she knew he was notoriously bad at math and she was much better at it than he was. "You're right, dumb question," Zoey said. "It's just that I have a midterm packet and I have to finish it and it's _so_ hard. Like, how am I supposed to know how to solve inequalities. They're _inequal_."

Zed chuckled. "I'm a sociology major. I don't do math, Peanut."

Zoey's head snapped up and she scowled at her brother, making him laugh. "Don't start that again," she threatened. "I was three!"

"You were adorable," Zed teased. "I can't wait for your school to ask for baby pictures. Baby Zoey covered in peanut butter is my all time favorite."

Zoey gaped at him. "Daddy made you delete that picture!"

"Eliza had it on a flash drive. As if Dad would destroy such a treasured Necrodopolus memory.."

"Zed!"

Zed just laughed. "Relax. Your eighth grade yearbook will only be classy pictures of baby Peanut."

"I don't trust you."

"Just do your math homework, Nerd."

Zed got his laptop out his backpack, setting up across from his sister. Chrome was already open on a tab that showed decent jobs not too far from campus, where he would start in January if one wanted him. There's still so much to worry about for his unborn baby that neither him nor Addison had addressed and were inevitable. He figured the least he could do was find a job and start making some money to give them some sort of a cushion.

"Eighteen minus six?"

"Twelve," Zed said offhandedly.

"Divided by three?"

"Get a calculator."

"It's four."

"If you knew that, why'd you ask?"

"I was thinking out loud!"

Zed just rolled his eyes. ' _A place to live. Where are we even gonna raise this baby_?' He'd have to talk to Addison about that. It's not like they were going to raise the baby in the off-campus apartments. Though they'd still have to be close enough so they could go to classes. ' _Or at least Addison could_.'

His phone buzzed beside his laptop and he glanced at it, watching Addison's contact picture flash on his screen. He picked it up and answered her call. "Hey what's up?" he greeted with a smile.

Zoey looked at her brother curiously. She didn't hear Addison's response of, " _I'm on my way to Seabrook with Eva and we're at Walgreens so do you want me to get you anything? I'm buying lots of snacks for the road trip but I was planning on stopping by to visit you or get snacks in order to lure you to my house._ "

Zed laughed, shaking his head. "You're so weird," he teased.

" _Shut up I'm buying Takis. Anything else?_ "

"Cookies?"

" _Got you. I would buy condoms but…you know_."

Zed laughed again. "Yeah I know. Hang on." He moved his phone from directly in front of his mouth and asked Zoey, "Do you want any snacks?"

She looked at him, confused. "We have a box of donuts in the fridge."

"It's a yes or no question, Peanut."

She scowled at him for a second, shaking a fist at him but ultimately shook her head no. Zed repeated her message into the phone.

" _Okay I'm gonna go check out. Cool if I come over later?_ "

"Of course it is," Zed said. "I knew you'd miss me too much."

" _Shut up or I'll put your Takis back._ "

Zed just laughed. "See you later, Addy."

Zoey gaped at him. " _Addison_?" she mouthed.

Zed nodded. " _Send me your address okay? And also Eva might join us. Don't know. She's kind of my ride. Gotta go!_ "

Addison hung up and Zed looked at his phone for a second before putting it down on the table. He looked at Zoey, who was staring at him and waiting for answers. "What?" Zed asked.

"What was that?"

"Addison is coming over in maybe a few hours," Zed answered.

"You said she was coming tomorrow."

Zed shrugged. "Guess I was wrong."

Zoey scoffed. "Guess I was wrong," she said in a mockingly deep voice. "Hello! Zed! Your _girlfriend_ is coming to our house and you're just sitting there!"

"She's seen how I live," Zed said. "She's been in my dorm before."

Zoey groaned and pushed out of her chair. " _Fine_. I guess I'm gonna have to clean to impress _your_ girlfriend."

Zed whined, sliding out of his chair and following his sister into the living room. "Okay _fine_ ," he complained. "Let's clean or whatever."

Campus itself was barely an hour and half away, which meant that Addison would be at his house sooner than either he or Zoey were ready for. They picked up their clothes and books, Zed did the dishes while Zoey set the laundry to start. Zoey's dog, who she had expertly named Puppy (she was six, cut her slack), ran around the downstairs, carrying a chew toy back to his bed.

Zoey and Zed moved their stuff from the kitchen to the living room, Zed was setting up on the couch while Zoey sat on the floor and used the coffee table as a desk. They got in another fifteen minutes of work before Addison knocked on the door.

Zed and Zoey looked at each other; Zed put his laptop to the side and got up, moving to open the door. Addison was standing on the other side with her friend Eva walking up from the curb. Addison smiled brightly at Zed.

"Zed! I haven't seen you in forever!" she exclaimed, throwing her arms around his neck and hugging him.

Zed laughed and stumbled back a little. He hugged her back, lifting her off the ground a little. "I saw you this morning. I drove you to school."

Addison laughed as he set her down and let go. Puppy ran from between Zed legs and scratched at Addison's legs. "Aw! You have a dog!" Addison gushed.

Zed chuckled and picked up Puppy. "It's my sister's dog," he said. He stepped to the side and said, "Come in."

Addison walked inside while Zed leaned out the doorway and called to Eva, "I'll leave the door unlocked for you!"

"Okay!"

Zed kicked the door closed and set Puppy down, watching him run off to Zoey before turning back to Addison. "Make yourself at home," Zed said. "This is my little sister Zoey. And you met her dog, Puppy."

Zoey smiled brightly and waved from the floor. Addison smiled too. "I remember Zoey," she said. "You came to cheer camp like, three or four years ago."

"Oh yeah," Zoey said as if she didn't already know. She got up and walked quickly to Addison, holding out her hand. "Nice to meet you again, Miss Zed's-Girlfriend."

Addison giggled and shook it. "You're so tall, geez," she pointed out. "You were so little. Do you still cheer?"

"Yes I do. I'm the assistant captain for my school's cheer team and I still cheer at the Mini Shrimp camp during the summer."

Addison covered her mouth with her hands. "Aw!" she gushed. "I-you still cheer! You were so good and so little and now you're so tall and grown up! You're gonna be in high school soon and—" Addison sucked in a breath, the tears already slipping from her eyes.

Zoey's eyes widened in surprise. "Woah! I didn't mean to make you cry!"

Zed wrapped his arms around Addison and turned her around to face him. Addison immediately buried her face in his shoulder. Zed looked at his sister who gave him a surprised look.

Addison lifted her head and wiped her eyes. She turned back to Zoey and said, "I'm fine, sorry. Just a little bit emotional and hormonal and…a mess. You know how…finals, are."

"That's…cool," Zoey said slowly. "You sounded like my dad when we had to go bra shopping for the first time. It wasn't fun."

Addison laughed, covering her mouth with her hand. Zoey glanced at her brother, who just smiled, so Zoey grabbed Addison's hand and pulled her further into the house. They disappeared into the den, Zoey already launching into a discussion about cheerleading.

From behind him, the door opened and Eva came in. "Hey Zed," she greeted.

Zed turned around and smiled at her. "Hey Eva, how you been?"

"Good," Eva said. "Busy taking care of the girl you knocked up."

"Ssh," Zed whispered harshly. Eva glared at him so he explained, "Neither of our families know. You know that."

"Whoops!" Eva laughed. "Where's Addison?"

"She's hanging with my sister," Zed said. "They're probably gonna watch Disney Channel Original Movies."

"What makes you say that?"

"Addison loves those," Zed stated. "Aren't you her friend?"

" _I_ know Addison loves DCOMs," Eva grumbled. "Thought you might be saying that 'cause they're both girls."

Zed made a "pfft" sound. "Please. Zoey has _a collection_ of DCOMs. They're gonna bond over them."

Eva looked like she didn't believe. Zed was right though, because when they walked into the den, Zoey was setting up _Pixel Perfect_ (one of Zoey's top ten picks). Zoey turned around and beamed at her brother. "Zed! Make popcorn! We're gonna binge watch all the DCOMs we can!"

Zed glanced at Addison who gave him an amused shrug. Zed nodded toward the doorway he came through, hoping Addison got what he was asking her.

She nodded and said to Zoey, "I'll go help Zed with the popcorn."

"Kay."

Zed turned to head to the kitchen, Addison following behind him. The kitchen was only a room away but far enough they wouldn't have to whisper at all.

"Sorry about Zoey," Zed said. He grabbed the box of microwave popcorn from the cupboard and dumped it on the counter.

"I love your sister," Addison said earnestly. "She's like how I was as a kid. But cooler."

Zed laughed a little. He opened a package of popcorn and tossed it in the microwave, then paused. "Is the smell gonna bother you?" he asked her.

"Dunno."

He glanced back in time to see her shrug and rolled his eyes (fondly).

Addison laughed. She jumped up into the counter, sitting not too far from the microwave. "Just make it and if I throw up then we'll know."

"Of course," Zed said mockingly. He shook his head and started the microwave.

Addison was still smiling at him. She grabbed his wrist and tugged, wordlessly telling him to move over to her. Zed stepped in front of her and Addison wrapped her legs around the back of his thighs and pulled him closer until he was standing between her legs.

"Hello," she said with an adorable smile. "I really have missed you, believe it or not."

Zed smiled too. He lazily placed his hands on her waist. "What'd you do today? After class, I mean. Wallow in pity? Stare longingly at my pictures in your phone?"

Addison rolled her eyes. "You think you're funny?"

"I do."

She shifted a little and grabbed her phone from her back pocket. "You know I did stare longingly at your picture," she said. "To look at how sexy you are."

She turned her phone to him and on it was the pictures Zed poses for when Bonzo asked for help in a project. His eyes widened in surprise and Addison laughed, putting her phone down on the counter.

"Yeah I was hanging out with Eliza and I learned a lot about you," she said. "They're really nice pictures, Zed. Like, 'make-me-want-some-dick' pictures."

Zed failed to hold in his laugh, shaking his head. "Addison you can't say stuff like that!"

"But it's true," she said in a whiny voice. She reached her arms up and wrapped them around his neck, pulling him down for a slow kiss.

She pulled back a little and told him, "It's been exactly three days and six hours since we last fucked. Which is three days, six hours too many."

"This is my childhood home," Zed stated with a laugh. "My sister is in the den. And my dad will be home in an hour. Maybe another time."

Addison pouted and pulled him down for another kiss. She moved her hands from around his neck to cradle his jaw. It's tender and soft, which is odd considering the position they're in and what they had been talking about prior to the kiss.

Addison started giggling against his lips. Zed pulled back and gave her a curious but amused look. "What's so funny about kissing me?" he asked.

"I-I was just thinking about—" Addison paused, her giggling making it harder to talk. Zed smiled as he watched her calm down, then continue. "About the first time we kissed. Like, without sex. And how we were both just like 'okay cool that's happening now' and didn't really say anything after that. I dunno, I just thought it was funny."

Zed laughed and shook his head. "You're kinda crazy, Adds."

"Oh, you love it," she waved off.

Instead of answering her, Zed kissed her again.


End file.
